Ss Substack
Newsletter publishing platform with built-in paid subscriptions, podcasting, video, chat, and in-network discovery.
Visit Substack → Get your launch kit →About Substack
Substack lets writers publish a newsletter, run paid subscriptions, podcast, livestream, and host a chat community in one place. Revenue runs through Stripe, with creator-selectable payout frequency (daily/weekly/monthly). The platform is best known for giving creators full ownership of their email list.
Our take
Substack is the default pick for writers who want to start earning from a paid newsletter fast, with zero setup and a built-in discovery engine. That's also its ceiling. The 10% platform fee (plus Stripe) is double what Beehiiv or Ghost charge, and you don't own the reader relationship — if Substack ever changes the deal, your subscribers are migrating an email list they signed up for, not one you own. Best for: essayists and journalists launching their first paid newsletter who value getting started over long-term ownership. Skip if: you plan to scale past 5,000 paid subscribers, because the fee bite becomes real, or you care about keeping your audience portable.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Full email list ownership and export
- Strong in-network discovery via recommendations
- All-in-one: text, audio, video, chat
Cons
- 10% fee scales with you forever
- Limited formatting controls
- No digital product sales
Full breakdown
- Platform fee
- 10% · of revenue
- Payout speed
- weekly
- Minimum payout
- $0 (Stripe)
- Countries supported
- Stripe-supported
- Email list export
- Full access
- Custom domain
- Yes ($50 one-time)
- Community features
- Comments, paid Chat, DMs